


You Deserve Happiness

by TheRev28



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, One-Sided Relationship, Pining, Pre-Relationship, kabedon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:28:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26722921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRev28/pseuds/TheRev28
Summary: Setsuna notices that Ayumu is completely in love with her childhood friend, Yuu. And so, like any good friend, Setsuna agrees to help Ayumu attract Yuu's attention.  If only it were that easy.Based on the comic series by @myonglette on twitter.
Relationships: Takasaki Yuu/Uehara Ayumu, Uehara Ayumu/Yuki Setsuna
Comments: 11
Kudos: 90





	1. Promise of Support

**Author's Note:**

  * For [myongle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/myongle/gifts).



> This fic based on the comic series by @myonglette on twitter. You should check it out, because it's great https://twitter.com/i/events/1278185628513886214
> 
> While much of the comic is more from Ayumu's perspective, I tried to center this fic completely on Setsuna to explore her thoughts and reactions. I hope you enjoy!

Setsuna liked to watch people. Ever since the School Idol club restarted, she especially liked to watch her fellow idols. They were all just so talented, and they constantly reminded her why she fell in love with school idols in the first place. Lately, though, her attention had been drawn to someone who was constantly watching someone _else._

“Good job everyone!” Yuu’s voice cut through the room. “Let’s take a five minute break.”

Everyone called out an agreement and split off to relax for a moment. Kanata immediately fell asleep on Emma’s lap, and Karin and Ai split off to talk in the corner—probably about DiverDiva. Shizuku went over to her bag and pulled out a script, still trying to pull double duty between the theatre and being an idol. Kasumi bugged Yuu about seeing a video of the practice, and Rina stood by to make sure her classmate didn’t bother their senpai _too_ much.

That just left one more person, and—yep. Ayumu stood against the window a short distance away, drinking some water, watching the scene with Yuu, Kasumi, and Rina play out. Specifically, she watched Yuu, just like she always did. Yuu smiled at something Kasumi said, and Ayumu mirrored said smile upon seeing it. 

Just like she always did. 

Something clicked in Setsuna’s mind. She’d seen those looks before in her favorite shoujo manga and anime. They always meant one thing. Setsuna walked over to Ayumu, and the other girl didn’t even notice. Her eyes were still locked on Yuu. 

“So how long have you been in love with her?” Setsuna asked.

Ayumu’s eyes widened, and her hand tightened on the water bottle she was drinking from. This, of course, sent a stream of water up her straw, causing her to momentarily choke. Yuu looked over, but Ayumu waved her off. Once Ayumu caught her breath, she turned to Setsuna.

“W-what are you talking about?” she said, waving both hands in front of her. Incidentally, this caused her to drop her water bottle, and it landed to the ground with a distinct _thud_. In the beat of silence that followed, Ayumu’s expression fell to one of resigned disbelief. “So even you can tell, huh?”

Setsuna fist pumped inside her head. In fact, she fist pumped in real life, too. She was right! Her manga hadn’t let her down! 

“How could I not?!” Setsuna said, still buzzing with excitement. “‘Lifetime childhood friendship turned to romance…’ just like in that one manga I read last month! I know a girl in love when I see her!”

“But I… I don’t really think it’s like manga, though,” Ayumu said, almost too quiet for Setsuna to hear. Setsuna opened her eyes, pulling herself out of her little fangirl moment, and saw the downcast expression on Ayumu’s face. “I’ve been trying for years. So… maybe she just isn’t….”

Setsuna’s heart twisted. She could tell Ayumu’s mind had wandered off somewhere else, and she had a good idea as to where. 

“Ayumu?”

“Maybe she just doesn’t….”

“Hey, Ayumu?” Again, there was no answer. Setsuna had never seen her friend like this before. The downcast eyes, the furrowed brow, the slight frown…. It all made Setsuna’s heart hurt to see her like this. Without another thought, she reached out and grabbed Ayumu’s hands, saying “Ayumu!” 

Ayumu flinched at the sudden contact, but Setsuna swore she also felt a jolt of electricity at the touch. No matter, though, not the issue at the moment. She had to cheer her friend up. Meanwhile, Ayumu looked up, meeting Setsuna’s encouraging expression with one of surprise. Maybe it was the practice earlier, but Setsuna thought she saw a slight flush on Ayumu’s face.

“It isn’t like you to be so pessimistic!” Setsuna said, trying to pour every ounce of encouragement into her tone of voice and every ounce of idol energy into her smile. “I’ll be cheering you on, so don’t give up just yet, ok?”

Ayumu’s shocked expression softened into a faint smile. Setsuna let her own smile come back down to a more normal level. She rubbed her thumbs across the back of Ayumu’s hands, trying to convey even just a little more support. Wow, her hands were soft….

“Alright everyone, let’s get back to practice!” Yuu called out. The frozen moment broke, and Ayumu pulled her hands away. But not without a final squeeze of her own. The momentary pressure made Setsuna’s heart flutter, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it. Practice resumed in earnest.

##########

A week or so later, and it was clear that even with Setsuna’s encouragement, Ayumu hadn’t made any progress. There had been that one time where she saw Ayumu feeding Yuu during lunch, but it sadly hadn’t gone any further. Truthfully, it boggled Setsuna’s mind. That was a classic trope in her manga, and it just? Didn’t work? 

Setsuna and Ayumu sat in the clubroom after everyone else had cleared out for the day. Yuu had hurried out at the end of practice, saying she had a meeting with Honoka and Chika. This left a very pouty Ayumu sitting at one of the tables.

“I wish Yuu would pay attention to me a bit more,” Ayumu muttered, just loud enough to pull Setsuna out of her musings. “I want to be the one to make her heart race.”

Make her heart race…. 

Make her _heart race!_ That’s it! If you wanted to make a girl’s heart race, Setsuna knew the perfect way!

Setsuna snapped her fingers and said, “That reminds me!” She glanced over at Ayumu and saw she clearly had the other girl’s attention. And so Setsuna went over to her bag and rummaged around, looking for the Ultimate Technique guide. While looking, she continued to explain. “I was reading this magazine that was lent to me, and I saw this technique. Found it!”

She pulled the magazine (“Lily Garden: Heart-Throbbing After School Girls’ Time Edition Volume 8”) from her bag and quickly turned to page 73. She caught a brief glimpse of the kabedon it depicted before showing it to Ayumu, but even that quick look was enough to make her heart flutter just a little.

It took a moment for the image to sink in for Ayumu, but when it did, she freaked out a little.

“Eh?!?! That’s really embarrassing, isn’t it?!?” Ayumu said, and Setsuna saw the blush dusting her cheeks. The initial shock wore off, leaving a still-embarrassed Ayumu sitting there, rubbing the back of her neck. She continued, saying “And well… can someone like me even pull it off? I don’t want Yuu to laugh at me….”

Setsuna surged forward, putting a hand on the table. Maybe this was her chance to finally try a kabedon!

“Then why don’t we practice?” Setsuna asked, hoping beyond hope that Ayumu would say yes. Before Ayumu could even respond, she pressed further. “I’ll demonstrate! You’ll be an expert!”

“E-eh?” Ayumu squeaked, looking like a deer caught in the headlights of Setsuna’s enthusiasm.

Setsuna decided to play her trump card. “Yuu will be quaking in her boots!”

That seemed to grab Ayumu’s attention. “R-really?”

“Absolutely! No one can resist the power of the kabedon!” Setsuna said, despite never having experienced it herself. But if even just seeing it done on a page could make her heart race, the real thing would be guaranteed, right? 

“Th-then… I suppose it’d be worth a try. What should I do?”

“Just go stand with your back against the wall and leave the rest to me!”

Ayumu took one last look at Setsuna, but Setsuna’s enthusiasm and excitement didn’t waver. So Ayumu stood up from her seat and walked over to the nearest wall of the clubroom. Setsuna followed behind, still on cloud nine that she was about to perform her first ever kabedon. She discreetly pinched herself, fearing this might all be a dream, but nothing happened. This was real.

Ayumu stood still in front of her, one arm crossed over her stomach to grab the other. Her eyes focused on the ground between them, but every few seconds, she’d glance back up at Setsuna. Setsuna’s heart pounded inside her chest.

“P-please excuse me,” Setsuna said, falling back on formality when she didn’t know what else to say.

Ayumu’s grip on her arm tightened just a little bit, but she said nothing. 

This was it. Now or never, Setsuna. She would show Ayumu how to kabedon and win over Yuu’s heart. No more time for thought, just action.

Setsuna slammed her left hand against the wall next to Ayumu’s head. The noise was everything Setsuna had dreamed it would be. A deep thud echoed slightly throughout the room and reverberated through her. Ayumu’s whole body flinched a little, and she looked up, eyes wide. Setsuna took in the expression, taking particular note of the small blush that wasn’t there before.

By all accounts, this was a textbook kabedon. It took all of Setsuna’s willpower to keep a simple smile on her face and not break into a fit of excited giggles. She absolutely _needed_ to call Riko after this and tell her all about it. 

The moment hung between them, neither really knowing what to do next. If this were one of her manga, Setsuna would lean in and gently lift Ayumu’s chin (never mind the fact that Ayumu was the taller one). She would whisper something cool and suave into Ayumu’s ear before finally going in for the k— 

It was only through a herculean effort of will that Setsuna shut down that line of thought and kept the blush off her own cheeks. 

“Well… what do you think?” Setsuna asked, feeling the overwhelming need to break the silence.

Ayumu didn’t respond right away, but she did grin. That look, being directed right at her, sent a shiver through Setsuna’s body. It looked… slightly predatory, but in a way Setsuna had never thought possible. Especially never dreamed it would be directed at her.

“I think I get it now,” Ayumu said, reaching up to grab Setsuna’s arm. Setsuna barely put up a fight as her arm was casually lifted off the wall. The feeling of Ayumu’s hand against her forearm, the heat it generated, the slight pressure of her grip… it all made Setsuna feel like she was quickly losing control of this situation. 

“W-wait, Ayumu, what are you—”

In one swift motion, Ayumu used her grip on Setsuna’s arm to flip their positions. The wall felt cold against Setsuna’s back, but she felt an even more intense heat radiating against her front. She opened her eyes that she didn’t remember closing and noticed one very key difference in Ayumu’s kabedon.

Ayumu had her entire forearm against the wall. Meaning she was _much_ closer than Setsuna had been. That heat she felt was Ayumu herself.

“Um, Ayumu? You’re really close…,” Setsuna muttered, barely loud enough to hear it herself. 

Ayumu clearly hadn’t heard it because she leaned in even closer. The heat Setsuna felt grew exponentially, to the point where she could feel it on her face and the tips of her ears. 

“So? How did I do?” Ayumu asked. She looked so excited, but Setsuna barely noticed. The feeling of Ayumu’s breath against her cheek short circuited an important part of Setsuna’s brain. 

_To close too close too close too close too close too close!_

Setsuna let out a noise somewhere between a gasp and a squeak as her legs gave out, and she slid to the floor. 

“Setsuna!?” Ayumu said, expression immediately shifting to one of concern. She kneeled down in front of her friend. “Are you okay? You’re not feeling sick, are you?”

The wires in Setsuna’s brain reconnected, but unfortunately, that brought back the memory of what just happened. Her face flared up into a blush the likes of which she’d never experienced. 

“It’s okay! I’m fine!” she said, sounding anything but. She put a hand to her cheek, as if she could push the blush back down and regain some composure. Somehow, it worked, as her next words sounded much calmer than she still felt. “I was just a little surprised. That’s all!”

“Ah! Sorry for moving so suddenly!” Ayumu held out her hand. “I’ll help you up!”

Setsuna took the other girl’s hand, and even through her gloves, she could still feel the heat of Ayumu’s skin.

“Thank you,” Setsuna said, getting to her feet. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before fixing her smile back into place and looking at Ayumu. “I think you’ve got it down, though. I’m sure you’ll get through to her this time.”

“You think so?” Ayumu asked, suddenly looking bashful. “This _is_ Yuu we’re talking about. You know how she is. But….” She paused and turned her full attention to Setsuna. Without warning, she unleashed the purest, most sincerely kindhearted smile Setsuna had ever seen—let alone received personally. “Thank you.” 

Setsuna had no idea how to respond. Her eyes widened, and she felt her jaw drop just a little bit. The heat returned to her cheeks and ears, and her brain threatened to short circuit again. Luckily for her continued coherence, Ayumu stopped smiling and walked over to get her bag from the table. 

“I think I’ll head off now. See you tomorrow!” With a final wave, Ayumu left the room, leaving Setsuna to stew in her own thoughts. 

She had no doubts that Yuu would notice Ayumu this time. After something like that…?

Her heart sounded loud as a drum in the now-silent room. 

She had a feeling it would take a while for it to finally calm down. The scene kept replaying in her mind: the satisfaction of a kabedon done well, the feeling of Ayumu’s hand gripping her forearm, the sudden flipping of the script and being at Ayumu’s mercy.

The feeling of Ayumu’s body against hers.

Her blush flared back to life, and Setsuna covered her face. It took almost an hour for her to regain her composure enough to head home. 

##########

A few hours later, after she finished her homework for the night, Setsuna remembered something important she had to do. She pulled out her phone and found Riko’s number. The phone rang a few times before the other girl finally picked up.

“Hello Setsuna,” Riko said. “This is a nice surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Riko, something wonderful happened today, and I just _had_ to tell you about it!” Setsuna said, unable to hide her excitement. “Remember how you lent me Volume 8 of ‘Lily Garden’?”

“Of course. Have you been enjoying it?”

“Better! I finally tried it out!”

“Wait… Setsuna,” Riko said, confusion clearly evident in her voice. “What do you mean by ‘you tried it out’?”

“I did it! That technique on page 73!” Setsuna said, almost vibrating in her seat. 

On the other end, she heard a muttered “page 73” and the flipping of pages. This was followed very quickly by a gasp.

“Tell me everything,” Riko whispered. 

“Eh?” was all Setsuna got out before the flood gates opened.

“How did it feel?!”

The closeness, the heat, the _breath_. It all rushed back to Setsuna with stunning clarity and she began to blush. Thank goodness this wasn’t a video call.

“It was really intense!” Setsuna answered. “Like—”

“Were you giving or receiving?!” Riko cut her off.

“Both!” Setsuna said, feeling her heart flutter especially hard when she thought about being on the receiving end. 

“Both?!” 

“Yeah, we took turns!”

“You switched?!” Riko took a few breaths to steady herself. “Ok, Setsuna, let’s take this one step at a time. Tell me how it felt to give one.”

“Oh Riko, it made me feel so _cool_ ,” Setsuna said, falling back onto her bed and kicking her legs. “The sound my hand made when it slammed against the wall shook my whole body, and it felt like I could do anything.”

“What about the other person? How’d they react?”

“She jumped a little at the sound, and I’m pretty sure she started blushing a little.”

Riko’s response was a squee so loud, Setsuna had to pull her phone away from her ear. She barely brought it back in time to hear Riko say actual words.

“That sounds so cool! Oh, I can’t imagine how much of a rush that must have been. Ok, now tell me what it was like to receive one.”

Setsuna’s blush returned in full force as she once again replayed the moment in her mind. She turned on her side and curled up into a ball, suddenly a little self-conscious of talking about it. Another part of her wanted to keep this feeling all to herself. But Riko was her friend, and she wanted to be honest.

“It was… incredible…,” Setsuna breathed. “Riko, there were so many feelings and sensations—the way she grabbed my arm before pinning me to the wall, or the contrast of the cold wall on my back and the warm body pressing against me, or the feeling of her breath as it danced across my cheek, feather light yet demanding to be noticed, or—”

“Whoa, whoa, Setsuna, maybe be a little… less specific?” Riko said, sounding uncomfortable. That pulled Setsuna out of the memory she’d gotten lost in. She hadn’t meant to say… quite so much. “That sounded way too intimate to share with someone else. I wouldn’t want your new girlfriend to get mad at you for telling someone else about it.”

New? Girlfriend? Ayumu as? Setsuna’s girlfriend? Could that…? No! No, of course not! Ayumu loved Yuu, and who was Setsuna to get in the way of such a fairytale relationship? 

“N-no, no, Riko, you’ve got it all wrong,” Setsuna said, trying to laugh, but not even convincing herself. “I was just helping her practice so she could use it on her crush! Those two are… meant to be together.”

The silence on the other end stretched out longer than Setsuna really felt comfortable with. Right as she was about to say something else, Riko spoke up again.

“Well, you’re a good friend to help her out like that. But Setsuna?”

“…Yes?” 

“Take it from me: You’re allowed to want happiness for yourself, too,” Riko said.

Riko’s words felt like arrows hitting Setsuna’s heart, and she found it hard to breathe. 

“Th-thank you, Riko. I’ll be sure to remember that. Um, I suddenly feel really tired, so I should go to bed. Thank you so much for listening to me ramble on.”

“Of course, Setsuna. Feel free to call any time.”

Setsuna hung up and let her phone fall to the bed next to her face. 

Happiness for herself…. No, no, that wasn’t what was going on here. That wasn’t… that wasn’t what she wanted. She just wanted Ayumu to be happy. She just wanted to be a good friend. She would be happy… if Ayumu were happy….

Right?


	2. A Cold Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After her talk with Riko, Setsuna has a lot to think about. What exactly did she want? Would it even do any good if she knew?

It took Setsuna a long time to fall asleep that night. Riko’s words kept ringing in her head like a taunt.  _ You’re allowed to want happiness for yourself, too. _ She  _ was _ happy, right? She had no reason not to be happy! For the first time in her life, she had friends. Not just friends,  _ best _ friends. 

It would be… selfish of her to want more. So she didn’t want more. She just wanted to support her best friend. That was it. 

So why? Why couldn’t she get those words out of her head? Why couldn’t she forget how warm— 

Setsuna rolled over onto her other side, thinking that might shift her thoughts to something else. Her phone rested on the pillow, and the clock read just before 1:30am. She’d been trying to sleep for over two hours now. Staring at the phone, her mind drifted away from talking to Riko and towards talking to someone else. The swirling thoughts in her head coalesced into a single, crystal clear realization.

She wanted to talk to Ayumu.

Why did it have to be so late at night? She couldn’t call Ayumu now, she was probably fast asleep. Setsuna sighed and closed her eyes, hoping that now that she’d realized her problem, she could ignore it easier and get to sleep.

Her phone buzzed, and the noise almost gave Setsuna a heart attack. She practically jumped out of her skin and proceeded to fumble around trying to grab the phone. Once in hand, she read the name on screen.

Ayumu.

Ayumu was? Calling her? At 1:30am? Her brain immediately went into a panic. There was no way Ayumu would call her so late unless it was an emergency. What if she fell out of bed and broke something and needed to go to the hospital? What if burglars broke into her home and she was calling for help? What if— 

Setsuna took a deep breath. No, it couldn’t be anything like that. Ayumu would have called 110 or 119 if she was actually in danger. Which meant she was calling for some other reason. And the only way to find out would be to answer.

“Ayumu…? It’s really late… is everything okay?” Even with her rationalization that Ayumu probably wasn’t in actual danger, Setsuna couldn’t prevent some concern from creeping into her voice.

“Hey Setsuna. I’m alright, really,” Ayumu said, and it sounded like the truth. At most, she just sounded tired, which made sense given the time. “It’s just that—” 

Ayumu cut herself off, and Setsuna thought she heard the murmur of other voices in the background. Was Yuu over? No, that wouldn’t make sense. In any case, Ayumu’s silence stretched on, as if she’d forgotten she was even on the phone.

“Ayumu?”

“It’s just that… I can’t sleep,” she said, finishing her previous thought as if she hadn’t just slipped into an extended silence. “Do you mind if we talk for a bit?”

Setsuna’s heart sped up a little. Was Ayumu in a similar state? Maybe… maybe she also couldn’t stop thinking about that afternoon. Maybe she also kept replaying the dual kabedons in her head over and over. Maybe she also remembered the feeling of their bodies just millimeters apart, the heat radiating across that infinitesimal gap and threatening to overwhelm— 

Setsuna shook her head, halting that train of thought before it went any further. There was no way. Ayumu only had eyes for Yuu. Those kabedons were just practice. Setsuna was trying to help them get together.

“Setsuna?”

She jumped a little, realizing that she’d been spacing out. “Sorry, sorry, I was still waking up a little. But I don’t mind at all. It’s always a pleasure talking with you.”

“I enjoy talking with you, too! So how was the rest of your day after school?”

A blush crept onto Setsuna’s face, and she was very glad this was a phone call. There was no way she could tell Ayumu about her conversation with Riko, it was too embarrassing. But at the same time, it wasn’t like she’d done anything else that evening. Maybe she could just… not mention what they talked about.

“It was fine. I spoke with Riko after dinner, so that was fun.”

“Oh really? I’ve always thought Riko was super nice the few times I’ve gotten to talk to her.” Ayumu laughed softly. “Though now I’m curious what you two were talking about.” 

Shoot, how did Setsuna not foresee that question? Of course Ayumu would be curious. A minor panic set in because she didn’t want to tell the truth, but she also didn’t want to lie. Maybe she could toe the line somehow.

“Oh! Um… Riko was the one who lent me that magazine,” Setsuna said, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice. “So I wanted to thank her again, considering how helpful it was.”

Ayumu laughed again, though this one had more of an embarrassed quality to it. “While it was certainly fun learning something new—thank you again for teaching me, by the way—I’m not sure how helpful it really was.”

Setsuna’s heart sank a little. “Uh oh, that doesn’t sound too good. What happened?”

“Well, I caught up with Yuu after leaving the clubroom,” Ayumu said with a little huff. “There was no one else around, and she was walking near a wall, so I figured it’d be the perfect time to try out what you showed me.”

“Wow, I didn’t expect an opportunity so quickly!”

“Neither did I. So I went up to her and did the kabedon just like you taught me.”

“How did Yuu react?” Setsuna asked. A complex mix of emotions swirled around inside her heart when she pictured the scenario in her mind. On the one hand, she hoped that it had worked and that they were a couple now. Though from Ayumu’s tone, she didn’t think that was the case. 

A part of her was happy about that, and she hated that part of herself. Her mission was to get them together! She shouldn’t be happy about it not working!

Ayumu sighed. “She started apologizing to me about a bunch of random things. I think she thought I was threatening her.”

“Wow…,” was all Setsuna could say.

“Yeah… now you can see how I’ve been trying for years with no success.”

“Unfortunately I can. Did  _ anything _ good come out of it?” 

“Well, I learned why Sasuke was starting to get fatter,” Ayumu said. That got her started on a whole tangent about caring for a pet snake. 

Setsuna smiled at getting to listen to Ayumu talk about something she loved. Eventually, she couldn’t keep her eyes open, but she could still listen with her eyes closed. She had no idea when exactly she drifted off, lulled to sleep by Ayumu’s soothing voice.

##########

“Yuu, wait!”

Setsuna opened her eyes and saw Ayumu standing a short distance away, her hand extended longingly towards Yuu, who faced away.

“Please… please accept my hearts!” Ayumu said, holding her hand in front of her mouth and blowing multiple high-powered kiss attacks towards Yuu. 

One by one, the hearts bounced harmlessly off of Yuu’s dense head. One of them ricocheted over towards Setsuna, and she caught it before it could hit the ground.

“Ayumu, don’t give up! You just need to land….” Setsuna wound up and threw the heart back towards Yuu with all her might. “A critical hit!”

It flew true, hitting Yuu right in the back of her head. And it bounced off without doing any damage. Yuu was so dense that even a critical hit didn’t phase her. Setsuna looked over towards Ayumu to see what to do next. Ayumu clutched one more heart, larger than the others, close to her chest.

“Setsuna, it’s… it’s my final heart.” Her grip tightened around it, and she curled inwards a little as if to protect it. “I don’t know if I can….”

Ayumu sounded so worried and vulnerable that Setsuna couldn’t stand idly by. She had to help, and there was one last, super special, powerful attack she could try. She rushed over to her friend and covered Ayumu’s hands with her own so they held the heart together.

“Ayumu, don’t worry!” Setsuna gently pulled and took it. Ayumu let her. “You can leave it to me.”

Setsuna stepped back, closed her eyes, and concentrated on the heart in her hands. This was Ayumu’s last heart, and it needed to score a perfect hit to break past Yuu’s defenses. It needed to shout Ayumu’s love loudly and for all to hear. And if there were one person in this world who could shout their love loudly, it was Setsuna Yuki.

A crackle of lightning shot out, followed by many more in quick succession. In a flash of light, Setsuna transformed into her school idol form.

Still holding the heart in one hand, she looked back at Ayumu. “I’ll make sure your heart reaches her! Now!” Setsuna held out her free hand, and her microphone—the source of her idol powers—materialized out of thin air. With a decisive motion, she combined Ayumu’s heart and her own microphone. More energy crackled around her as she powered up for her ultimate attack. “Let’s shout out our feelings! Setsuna! Scarlet!—”

“Wait!”

Ayumu’s desperate cry broke Setsuna’s concentration, and the accumulated energy fizzled away. Setsuna looked over towards her friend in confusion. Ayumu’s eyes were closed, but tears were visibly welling up, threatening to spill out. 

“That final heart! It’s… it’s actually… for y—”

Setsuna’s whole world lurched, and she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked out at the sun shining through her bedroom window. Blearily glancing around, she realized she was on the floor. Her sheets were a mess, meaning she probably fell out of bed. That would explain the pain in her shoulder. 

But that meant… everything that had just happened was a dream. She had imagined it all. Which meant….

Everything Ayumu had said had been what Setsuna  _ wanted _ her to say.

With a cold realization gripping her heart, Setsuna knew she wanted more.

She wanted to be the one that Ayumu….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas, myon! I've repeatedly told you something like this was coming, but hopefully I surprised you on the actual timing of it <3
> 
> If you're reading this chapter, you obviously already know this fic is based on myon's comic over on twitter (@myonglette), but I'll still tell you to go check it out! This chapter is based on part 3 (plus some of the bonus from part 2). Though I should make it clear, this is my own interpretation on the comic series, and I will occasionally change minor things to make it fit the written format better.


End file.
